Between Heartbeats
by BlueEyes444
Summary: Baby, you make my heart beat really fast. /The Next Generation in thirty three different ways.


**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Harry Potter.**_

**For Mad. :)**

**Word count: 2101**

* * *

i.

The summer night is hot and humid. She's sitting by the pond, the burning end of her cigarette the only light for miles.

Smoke encircles her head, winding through the night like a snake.

"You know smoking can kill you, right?" The voice appears from nowhere, but she doesn't jump.

"You know I don't care, right?" Roxanne counters, her lips twisting into a bitter smirk. "We've been through this before. Cut the bull. What do you want?"

Lysander comes around from behind her and sits down, keeping a safe distance between them. Neither can make out the other very well in the dark.

"Your mother sent me to get you," he says slowly after a moment. "She says you need to go talk to Lily and apologize."

Roxanne takes a long drag of her cigarette. "I found her and Scorpius in bed together. She got what she deserved." A smirk overtakes her lips without warning. "I could've done a lot worse to her. That curse was just minor."

Lysander sighs, a mixture of disappointment and fondness. "'Anne..."

Roxanne stubs out her cigarette and the world turns a little darker.

"Don't call me that, Scamander. We're not together anymore." Scorn drips off her voice.

"_Roxanne_," he corrects mildly. "I just feel the need to remind you that Scorpius isn't innocent. Remember the whole Rose and Dominique thing?"

Roxanne abruptly stands up. "And do I need to remind you that I found you in bed with Lily -tramp?"

Lysander winces but doesn't react and her lips curl upwards. Merlin, she has him there and he knows it. "I've told you before. It wasn't what it seemed, Roxanne," he says after a moment.

Roxanne turns away and resists the urge to light another cigarette. "You know what? I can't figure out what I bloody saw in you."

Without missing a beat, he says back calmly, "And I can't figure out how I didn't realize you were such a bitch."

It's silent and then she laughs, and it's a cold sound. "Merlin, I forgot just how much fun you are."

With those words, she apparates back to the house and Lysander is left alone, wondering why after all this time, she still makes his heart beat just a little bit faster.

ii.

Its two weeks after that disastrous incident that they run into each other again.

"I never took you for a stalker," she says wearily, taking a sip of her vodka. The bar they're at is loud and flashy and at one time neither of them would be caught dead in it and maybe that's why they're there now.

He sits down beside her, orders a beer then turns to her and says, "Didn't expect to see you here, Roxanne."

"I didn't either," she retorts, the ice in her glass clinging together as she raises it to her lips. She cringes as the bitter taste burns her throat.

"So, what brings you here?" Lysander asks conversationally, keeping his gaze on the beer bottle that his fingers are wrapped around tightly.

Roxanne looks at him, wondering what angle he's playing. Choosing her words carefully, she says, "I'm meeting someone."

At this, Lysander chokes on his sip of beer and its a few moments before he stops coughing. "Erm, really now?"

A smile graces Roxanne's lips. "Why, yes." Lysander stares at her, a look of distress in his eyes though she doesn't understand why it's there.

"Who is it, if you don't mind me asking?" His voice is shaking a little. He knows who it is.

Roxanne bides her time, tapping her nails along the edges of her glass. "Your brother."

A look of betrayal flashes across his face so quick that if she hadn't been looking at him, she would have missed it.

"Ah," he says and that's that. Without another word, he throws some cash by his half empty beer bottle and walks out the door.

Instead of the triumph that she expects to feel, a hollow feeling she can't explain settles in Roxanne's stomach.

iii.

A couple days after that, Roxanne seeks him out.

Her fist knocks sharply on the door and she waits patiently for him to answer. She doesn't know what she's doing, much less why. But she knows she needs to talk to him. His hurt look is still haunting her mind.

He opens not a minute later, looking dishevelled and sleepy, dressed in nothing but jeans and if her breath hitches just so, well, she'll never tell.

"Roxanne?" His eyebrows knit together. "What are you doing here?"

Roxanne clears her throat. "I came to apologize."

A look of confusion passes over his face. "For what?"

Licking her lips she says, "For implying that I was meeting Lor at the bar for a date. He just wanted to ask my blessing on pursuing Freddie."

Visible relief flares in his eyes. "Oh. Well. Thank you for telling me. Though I...erm, don't have the right to be a jealous ex."

She shifts her weight, studying the ground with renewed interest. It's silen**t** and as she opens her mouth to add onto her comment, he blurts out, "I like this."

Roxanne frowns, looking up at him. "What?"

Lysander offers her a shrug. "I like this. You know. Us being nice to one another."

She stares at him before smirking. "Yeah, right. Don't get used to it. It's a one-time thing." Turning away, she shouts over her shoulder "See ya later, Scamander," before she apparates away.

Lysander stares at the spot where she once stood before shaking his head. He closes the door with a heavy sigh.

iv.

Two months later and fate brings them back together. But this time it's at Louis's and his girlfriend's engagement party.

Lysander is propped up against a wall, eating a slice of cake and listening to Lorcan ramble on about Fred this, Fred that when he sees her.

She doesn't look happy (but he thinks, when does she ever?) as she downs a cup (one of many, he suspects) of fire whiskey, fully engrossed in a conversation with Victoire. Actually, judging by the bored expression on Roxanne's face, Victoire is the one who's doing most of the talking.

Lorcan has spotted the direction where his brother's looking and he chuckles.

"Go on," he says fondly and Lysander blinks stupidly before turning to his twin.

"What?"

Lorcan chuckles again, rolling his eyes. "Go and talk to her. If you don't, I'll drag your arse over there myself."

Lysander shoots him a mock wounded look. "You're so mean to me, big brother, so mean."

Lorcan just responds with a laugh and a friendly shove and Lysander rolls his eyes before walking the few short steps to where Victoire and Roxanne are.

He slinks up to Victoire's side, and grins widely. "I hate to interrupt but I need to borrow Roxanne for a moment."

Victoire gives him a look he can't quite place. "I think Dom needs to talk to me..." she trails off, voice faltering. Sending another look at him, she steps around Lysander and he and Roxanne are left staring at one another.

After a moment, Roxanne cracks a tired grin. "Thanks for the rescue."

He tips his head, fighting a smile. "Least I could do." He pauses, slides his gaze on her, motions at the glass she's holding. "I think James brought something stronger."

She looks at him, her eyes narrow, and she's debating her options, what should she do, how much should she trust him, and he would give anything for just a moment in her head, to know what thoughts her brown eyes were hiding.

Then she nods, her shoulders slumping a little, giving in. He grins, just a little, and it's a little forced and how did they come to this? Because they were once best friends, once lovers, once trusting each other with their lives, and now he's sure that she can't look at him without reminding herself of Lily wrapped in his arms and he can't look at her without feeling overwhelming guilt because by helping one friend, he betrayed the one who at one point was supposed to spend forever with him.

"Come on," he says cheerfully, the tone just as forced as his smile and she smiles back at him, just as forced he's sure, and he leads her towards the kitchen, all the while thinking that he can't quite remember what she smells like.

v.

It's three in the morning and Roxanne wakes to heavy pounding on the door of her flat. She grabs her robe and makes her way down the hallway, trying to smother her annoyance. It's probably a completely wasted James again. It wouldn't be the first time he's showed up at her place at odd hours in the morning nor would it be the last.

Sighing, she unlocks her door and opens it, freezes when she sees it's not her cousin but Lysander.

He's kinda swaying, his eyes blood shot, completely reeking of alcohol. "What are you doing here?" she asks, and he stares at her with a confused frown.

"I didn't sleep with her," he blurts, voice slurring as he rests an arm against her door frame. Most likely so he doesn't fall.

"Sleep with who?" she demands and what is he saying, she can't take his word for it because he's so obviously smashed, doesn't know what he's talking about, why should she believe him, she just doesn't know.

He reaches over and pokes her chest with a finger. "Lils. I didn't...erm, sleep with her."

Roxanne stares at him, expression instantly falling into carefully placed disdain as she grabs his wrist and pulls him inside. He stumbles over to her couch, mumbling darkly under his breath things she doesn't catch and she starts making a cuppa, because it's either that or something like a glass of vodka and it honestly won't do much good if they're both wasted.

"Just go to sleep and we'll talk about this in the morning," she calls over to him and she still hears him mumbling so it's not surprising that he doesn't directly respond to her.

She sighs, finishes making her cuppa and walks over to the couch, where he's picking at one of her blankets. Closer, she can pick up some of what he's saying.

"Messed up...peppermint...pony...stupid, stupid."

She sits down in a chair across from him and watches him with growing curiosity. "Do you want me to call someone?" she asks after a moment because what else is she supposed to do?

He stubbornly shakes his head, before laying down and curling up in a ball. His eyes are fighting to stay open. "I didn't sleep with her," he insists again, before he loses the battle and his eyes close.

Roxanne stares at him. Shaking her head, she takes a drink of her cuppa. It has long since grown cold.

vi.

The next morning is full of hangovers and vomiting, and she sits with him, and all she can think is, "_he didn't sleep with her?__"_

It's incredibly awkward because he doesn't remember their early morning chat but she does and it's after he's nursing his second cup of coffee that she brings it up.

"Did you sleep with Lily?"

Lysander chokes and it takes several moments for him to get his breath back. Roxanne waits patiently.

"It's been a year and you're just asking me now?" he demands sharply.

She shrugs before repeating her question.

He stares at her, and she can't read anything in his expression and that scares her because she's always been able to read what he's feeling but this time she can't and she doesn't know what to do.

"No," he says shortly. "I tried to tell you that."

"Tell me again. I'm listening," Roxanne insists and he frowns, takes another sip of his coffee.

"She needed help getting away from some bloke. He kept asking her out, she kept on refusing but he wouldn't let up so she figured that maybe he would get the message if he found her with another guy." He laughs bitterly. "All we did was cuddle. You weren't supposed to walk in."

She exhales heavily and she studies him as he studies her and it's a moment, two, three, before the silence is broke with,

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

Roxanne reaches out, hesitant, touches his hand. He doesn't pull away. She licks her lips.

"Can we try again?" he asks, and she nods and they're both broken from years of heartbreak but maybe, just maybe, they can put the pieces back together again.


End file.
